Memoirs of the Returnee

College Tour (2)

“……This is our club room. Quite noisy, isn’t it?”

The [Body Incline] club room, where I was led by a club member, was a training room from the get-go. The space, larger than six average gyms combined, was filled with exercise equipment and had natural elements like forests, dirt floors, and waterways.

Real money is being wasted here.

“Hold on. I’ll bring the president.”

The man who brought us disappeared somewhere.

In the meantime, I observed the people. I thought they would all be bulky, but half were as expected, and the other half were slim.

The gender ratio was 7:3, with slightly more men, but there were quite a few women too. Most of them, regardless of gender, were stealing glances at Gerkhen Kal Doon.

“Ah~ The one with that magic high assignment?”

A rather booming voice. A short-haired man who looked like the club president appeared.

“Oh, it’s real. I got the notice, but you actually came here?”

He approached, wiping his sweat with a towel.

“Don’t high schoolers usually hate physical training? Especially no-mana zones. We have a separate no-mana zone here too. Ah, I’m the president of Body Incline, Aidman.”

He introduced himself as Aidman and chuckled.

“By the way, our club trains both Magic Body and Strong Body. But these days, kids are too fond of Magic Body~”

Aren’t you one of those kids too? I held back my retort.

“So, I heard there’s a kid who almost jumped 7m in the high jump?”

Aidman crossed his arms, his face full of excitement.

It seems that the rumor has already spread here.

Strictly speaking, it’s not a rumor.

“Gerkhen Kal Doon, is that you?”

Aidman’s eyes pointed at Gerkhen Kal Doon like an arrow.

They should be meeting for the first time, but he knows Gerkhen Kal Doon. No, he’s been talking to Gerkhen Kal Doon since earlier.

Am I invisible?

“No, it’s not.”

Gerkhen Kal Doon shook his head. Aidman grinned broadly.

“What do you mean, no? What’s the point of hiding it?”

“…….”

Gerkhen Kal Doon glanced at me without saying a word. Aidman shrugged his shoulders.

“Well. You might not want to talk about it. Anyway, if you want to get our club’s approval stamp, you have to take a test. We only accept guys who can use their bodies decently. You know, ‘physical arts’?”

“Physical arts?”

I asked back. I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never learned it. Whether it’s physical arts, swordsmanship, or martial arts, it all costs money to learn properly.

“Ah, are you a senior too? Weren’t you Gerkhen Kal Doon’s manager?”

Aidman seemed to have just noticed my existence.

“……What high schooler has a manager.”

“Sorry. Anyway. Our entrance exam is that.”

Aidman pointed to a mud path.

“It’s simple. The width is 10m. The length is 50m. You just have to cross that mud path in under a minute.”

Cross 50m in under a minute. At first glance, it seems too easy. The mud is probably a bit sticky or slimy.

But it doesn’t seem too difficult.

“Does it look easy?”

Aidman chuckled as if he had read my expression.

“Do you want to try it right away?”

“Yes.”

Gerkhen Kal Doon seemed to have the same idea, as he was the first to stand at the starting line. Without any particular preparatory stance, he dashed off immediately.

Whoosh!

A blue afterimage lingered in the air. It was a sprint scattered by the wind. In the blink of an eye, Gerkhen Kal Doon was already on the other side.

Not even a minute, he covered 50 meters in just 3 seconds.

He doesn’t even give us time to learn by watching.

“Oh… They say it’s a talent that comes once every 30 years. Is it really?”

The crew members, led by Aidman, applauded and marveled. Then I also warmed up.

“Friend. You don’t have to do it. What was your name?”

“Shion. Ascal.”

Aidman chuckled and bowed mockingly.

“That’s Gerkhen Kal Doon, so it looks easy. Most high school students-”

Like Gerkhen Kal Doon, I dashed off immediately.

My first step dug into the mud. The ground beneath my feet squelched at that moment, but I had anticipated this much stickiness.

As long as I maintain my body’s balance, it’s enough to overcome. Even if I can’t use Magic Body, my body alone, swoosh—

“!”

My foot sank.

“Damn it!”

No, it’s more than just sinking. The ground doesn’t feel like ground. It’s some sticky liquid.

As soon as I step on it, my ankle sinks, when I step with both feet, I kneel, and from the third step, my lower body is swallowed up.

The more I move, the worse it gets, and the mud soon reached my navel.

I couldn’t even take three steps before I was stuck like a stick.

“That’s what I mean. That’s normal.”

Aidman, beyond the starting line, murmured looking down at me. The other crew members nodded as if agreeing.

Somehow, the situation feels a bit humiliating.

“It’s specially developed mud. It has high viscosity but low friction, so it keeps sinking. It also has a property that absorbs magic, so it was developed for booby traps… But it’s too expensive, so we just use it for training. You’ll need a certain level of Magic Body to overcome it.”

Before I knew it, I was buried up to my shoulders. It felt like a giant was gripping my body tightly.

“Shall I help you?”

Aidman asked.

For me, the feeling was strange.

His expression, voice, nuance, all the non-verbal expressions that belittled me, they all seemed to remind me of my past helplessness.

“Do I help, or not?”

Aidman spoke again, but I just smiled quietly.

I raised my arm.

I held up my middle finger.

“…Huh.”

Aidman’s face, laughing awkwardly, was obscured by the mud. Before I knew it, I was buried up to my eyes.

I can’t see, I can’t hear, I can’t speak.

Only the pitch darkness.

I tried to flounder a bit, but there’s nowhere to step or jump.

First, let’s stay calm.

The depth of this mud is not infinite.

In other words, even this specially developed mud will have a ‘bottom’. Just as even the deepest sea has an end if you go down endlessly.

If I can touch that, if I can step on it even once, I can leap with that propulsion.

“It’s similar to how a hippo leaps out of the water.

They don’t swim, but push off the bottom of the water and surge upwards.

Of course, humans aren’t hippos, but if a human’s body were as strong as a hippo’s, it would be possible.

I can become ‘temporarily’ like that.

Gurgle…

I conserved my breath as much as possible. My body sank squishily. I flailed my limbs to increase my descent speed.

—And then.

Thud-

I touched down.

As expected, there was something like a ‘plate’ under my feet.

I planted my feet on it.

It was hard. Hard enough to stand on.

It’s worth a try at this point.

I called upon Perion. The heat of the Magic Core spread through my limbs. Pure power surged throughout my musculoskeletal system.

What I desired was: the most simple and destructive ‘physical ability’ and ‘strength’ upgrade.

I suffered side effects due to my stubborn pride, but well.

It’s much better than being wrapped in the same powerlessness as before.

Better than having spaghetti dumped on my head or trembling trapped in a cabinet.

Better than lying in a hospital bed, watching as the guys who were once in the same class as me become famous knights on TV.

Better than just watching the family that killed my father and ruined my life become the masters of Edsilla.

Better than suffering from such feelings of inferiority, powerlessness, and defeat.

It’s much better to fight and win on your own, even if it’s out of stubborn pride…

I opened my eyes. All around was dark, but my coordinates were clear.

A straight line.

Not bending at all, just above my head.

I put power into the soles of my feet.

I pushed off the ground and leaped.

Kwaaaaaah-!

My body ascended in an instant. The sticky mud fell off like dog hair, and the foreign feeling that had been holding me also disappeared.

Fresh air rushed in.

There was a ceiling right in front of my eyes.

“……”

In that void, I looked back.

Below the crumbling ground scattering mud, Gerkhen Kal Doon and the crew members, including Aidman, were looking up at me. Time seemed to slow. Everyone’s eyes widened, and shock and surprise spread in turn.

It wasn’t a bad view.

Swoosh…

I’m in the shower, washing off the mud. I’m bracing for some side effects, but so far, so good.

“……Huh?”

I was surprised when I looked in the mirror while lathering soap.

Because of my wet body.

“When did my body get like this?”

My body is good. It’s not narcissism, anyone would say it’s ‘good.’

But it’s not bulky muscles. It’s not too massive, not too skinny, just perfectly attached where it’s most needed, real combat-compressed muscle.

Why is my body like this?

I’ve never made time to work out.

Is this also thanks to the ‘Embodiment’?

“……Hmm.”

Enough with the nonsense.

I quickly finished the shower. A dried uniform was already laid out on the locker room bench.

I changed and went outside.

—You should really join our club when you come to Edsilla~ We won’t bother you.

Gerkhen Kal Doon was surrounded by club members.

—You said you’re going to the Knight Department, right? There are a lot of them here.

—And… oh, there he is, your friend.

Who’s calling me a friend on their own accord?

—I’m not his friend.

Fortunately, Gerkhen Kal Doon corrected them.

—Ah, right? I thought so.

What’s with the ‘I thought so’?

I approached them. Only the club president, Aidman, stood up first.

“You did well. Now, let’s announce the interview results?”

He looked alternately at Gerkhen Kal Doon and me.

“Gerkhen Kal Doon passed. Shion has…”

His expression was grim.

Well, of course, I would fail.

“Passed.”

“……Excuse me?”

“Well, Shion, you couldn’t swim 50 meters, of course, but your stamina and explosive power were excellent.”

Aidman put his hand on my shoulder. He felt around the edges of my trapezius and deltoid muscles, then let out a satisfied sigh.

“Indeed. You have a good physique. You must work out a lot?”

“I do, but-”

“Are you also applying to the Knight Department?”

“Yes, the Knight-”

“Your frame is a bit small for a knight, but it’s not like there are no knights with your frame. You’ll do fine if you work hard! Hahaha.”

Aidman laughed heartily and handed me a club card.

“Here!”

Gerkhen Kal Doon and I had passed stamps side by side.

“Then. I’ll be going.”

Gerkhen Kal Doon said politely. I also licked my lips and nodded.

“Alright. Good job.”

As we walked out side by side, Aidman shouted from behind us.

“But, Gerkhen Kal Doon! That high jump! It wasn’t really you, was it?”

Gerkhen Kal Doon turned to him and answered immediately.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“……Haha. Try a little harder. It looks like you could even break the draft record.”

Aidman didn’t seem to believe it, but.

We left the building. The sunlight was refreshing. Maybe it was because I had taken a shower.

I said to Gerkhen Kal Doon.

“Hey. This time, let’s go where I say. I followed you, so it’s only fair.”

Then Gerkhen Kal Doon replied.

It wasn’t a response to my words.

“It was you. 683 cm.”

“……What?”

I stopped in my tracks. My legs froze.

Gerkhen Kal Doon didn’t.

He had already moved ahead, and my eyes blankly followed his back.